The invention relates generally to apparatus for artists, and more specifically to a carrier for transporting paintings, such as wet paintings, in a secure and protected manner.
Unframed artworks often have to be transported, and this is particularly true with plein air painting. The artist carries painting gear including canvases, paints, brushes, and an easel out into the field, sometimes to a remote location. At the end of a session, there is a need to carry a completed or partially completed wet painting back to the artist's studio, and it is important the painted surface be protected.
Painting carriers, especially for canvas panels, have been available for this purpose. However, they have typically been dedicated to a particular size of painting, or they have been bulky or heavy or not sufficiently secure. Moreover, the painting carriers of the prior art have provided a frame or a box, necessarily larger than the painting or paintings which it is designed to carry, thus causing the artist, when going out into the field, to carry an additional bulky item.
Carriers for artist's paintings are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 9,370,964 and 9,162,521. See also the websites panelpak.com and raymarart.com. Some of these prior carrier devices were dedicated to specific sizes and could not receive panels slightly oversized, which often occurs.